


The Specimen

by MegaKat



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Crash Landing, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Language Barrier, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 20:07:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3394745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaKat/pseuds/MegaKat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Eris to study the passing of a comet, Ami is surprised when a warrior crash lands on the dwarf planet, but when she tries to save him, he gets violent and lands himself in a cell. Now she just needs to figure out what he is and why he's there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nappa’s first reaction was panic.

                He could feel the restraints around his wrists and bare ankles, cool and metallic, and several leather straps securing his torso, his upper thighs and his forehead, and his first reaction was pure freezing panic and utter terror. “Oh gods, help me please,” he whispered into the pitch black, his entire body trembling in fear at being unable to move, unable to see anything, hear anything… “I hate small spaces,” he breathed, his voice now shaking as well. “I hate being strapped down… please? Can anyone hear me?”

                He let his head fall back with a loud thunk and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Ok, he was strapped down to what felt like a cool metal table in a totally dark room. He was a Saiyan general and he could handle that. Surely, it couldn’t be anything worse than Frieza had dished out in the past, right?

                Nappa began by assessing his condition from head to toe, noting that he felt no pain, but that his armor was gone. But he wasn’t naked; he seemed to be wearing a soft, comfortable pair of pants, and he felt consoled by that fact. If he was some kind of medical experiment or in one of Frieza’s “punishment” rooms, he’d be bare-assed naked.

                “I was way too far from Frieza, at any rate,” he said to himself. “Not a chance in Hell that that asshole caught me up.”

                The lights came on suddenly, seemingly at the sound of him speaking over a hushed whisper, and Nappa immediately squinted his eyes nearly shut against the glare before turning his head back and forth to see whatever he could of the room.

                The only thing of interest was a glass window on the wall to his right, and Nappa had been in enough of Frieza’s punishment rooms to know two-way glass when he saw it. There was someone on the other side of that glass watching him, and he curled his lip up in a snarl at the very thought. “I don’t know who you are or why you have me restrained, but you’d better make yourself known right now if you want to live when I break loose from them.”

                Right on cue, he heard a door open behind him, and Nappa steeled himself for the very worst as he heard quiet footsteps approach to just outside of touching distance. He could practically feel his captor’s hesitation and couldn’t help a little smirk at the knowledge that they were afraid of him. _As they very well should be. I’m a very scary man when I want to be._

                But being scary was the last thing on his mind when his jailer stepped into view and his jaw dropped at the sight of the smallest, most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was beyond lovely, even with the bruises marring her—“Dear gods, no wonder you’ve got me trussed up like hog ready for slaughter,” he whispered, flinching at the realization that he’d been the one to blacken her left eye, cheek, and jaw. Nappa could have rationalized that someone else had done it, but the massive hand-shaped bruises on both of her arms and her neck could have only possibly come from him—even on Vegeta-sai, no one else had hands that big.

                “I’m sorry, woman,” he rumbled as he continued to assess her for further injuries. “I don’t remember doing that, but it’s still no excuse. I don’t hit women outside of combat, and definitely not women as small as you.” Nappa cringed then at a sudden thought, one that filled him with utter terror, and he closed his eyes tightly at the very thought of having violated her. “Tell me now if I raped you, woman. If I did, then kill me and reclaim your honor. I won’t fight you.”

                His only reply was a soft, terrified voice speaking in a language he didn’t understand in the slightest, but the sound of her speaking had his beast rising to the surface, trying to purr comfort to her. “I don’t understand you,” he answered once she was finished talking. “Galactic, maybe?” He asked in that particular language. “Universal Planetary Trade? You certainly don’t speak Saiyan.”

                Apparently she understood just what he was doing, because she immediately fixed her eyes on him with a little less fear as he switched between languages, then she finally found a chair and pulled it up near the exam table so that they were at eye level.

                It was her turn to try, and Nappa listened carefully for a single word that he understood, only to shake his head and sigh in exasperation when she finished. “Not a word. I don’t suppose you have my scouter lying around here somewhere? Damn it, I knew I should’ve let them put that translation chip in my head, but I’m a stubborn old asshole that insisted he was fine without it.” Never mind that most of older warriors had refused it, too.

                The little blue-haired woman seemed just as frustrated and at a loss by the lack of a shared language, and she let out a huff of annoyance before mumbling something to herself and getting out of her chair, disappearing from view when she went deeper into the room. Nappa eyed the surgical tray that she returned with and couldn’t help an instant shudder of fear at the sight of sutures, scissors, and a few other things he didn’t recognize. “I said that you could kill me, but I’d much prefer it if you didn’t torture me first,” he said quickly, his tail going rigid in alarm when she picked up the scissors. “Please don’t tell me that you’re going to cut me up and then sew me back together.”

                He saw her face soften a bit then—she could definitely see the fear in his eyes, he was sure—and he heard her say something gently as she locked gazes with him and spoke in a soft, reassuring tone. But that didn’t matter a bit to Nappa, since the only thing he could focus on was the strong, overwhelming tug in his chest, informing him that he’d found his mate. “Mine,” he breathed in wonder, only to be broken from the spell he was under when he attempted to lift a hand to cup her face, only to have it stopped by the cold metal shackling him.

                His eyes flickered over his restraints then, and he gave his hands and feet a shake within them to test their strength, intent on breaking free, only to hear the crash of the surgical tray on the floor and a terrified voice pleading with him from across the room. He realized his error immediately; the woman was trembling with her back to the glass, her eyes full of tears, wide and staring at him in terror.

                He’d done that. He’d done that with his hands—hopefully with _only_ his hands—and while he couldn’t remember a single bit of it, the blame still lied with him. “Forgive me, woman. I won’t hurt you.” Nappa relaxed as well as he was able and laid his head back down, keeping it turned towards her in hopes that she would see his intentions written all over his face. “It’s alright. I won’t hurt you, Blue,” he added with a little smirk, knowing she wouldn’t understand the word referring to her hair color. “Come back.” He jerked his head a little, indicating that she should return to whatever she’d been about to do, praying that she wasn’t intending on torturing him with those instruments. “It’s ok, Blue. I won’t try and get loose.”

#########################################

                Ami hadn’t been sure what would happen whenever the man that had crash-landed on Eris woke, but she definitely hadn’t expected what seemed like an intelligent, calculating warrior. Nor had she expected his voice to be so quiet and patient, not after the way he’d roared with rage and beaten her senseless when she’d first found him in what was left of his ship’s wreckage, naked and covered in injuries from head to toe, dehydrated beyond the limits her own kind could stand.

                If it hadn’t been for those injuries, he would have likely killed her, but his consciousness had flickered for a moment, his hand had went lax around her throat, and Ami had immediately summoned  her powers over ice in her terror and had nearly frozen him solid. It had been more than enough to put him down for the count, and the proof of her panic was still evident on his peeling fingers, toes, ears and the tip of his tail.

                He’d been lucky that she’d managed to save everything that had been flash frozen. Hell, if not for her very nature, she would have left him for dead out there in the cold of the lightless dwarf planet.

                And if not for that nature and her oath to care for the wounded, she would have left him strapped to that table for trying to get loose, but he had clearly realized why she’d been so afraid, remorse painting his face as he spoke softly and gestured with his head for her to come back. “If you try that again,” she finally whispered, “I’ll make that gash on your shoulder look like a lovetap.”

                Watching his lips twitch up in a smirk, he apparently understood a threat when he heard it and tipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. “Good. Glad we managed to communicate,” Ami whispered shakily, summoning all of her courage to get a tray of clean instruments, kicking the ones she’d dropped to the side. No way was she bending over to pick them up; she wasn’t taking her eyes off of him for a moment.

                He wasn’t either, and she could see his fear when she picked up a pair of surgical scissors. “I’m not going to hurt you… though you probably deserve it. I wouldn’t hurt a helpless man, even if he did beat me black and blue a week ago. I’m only going to hurt you if you try to hurt me.” Ami sighed heavily when he only continued to stare up at her fearfully and switched to nonverbal communication, hesitating for only a moment before touching his shoulder. The gash was long and had required more stitches than she’d ever given a single patient, and the piece of his ship that had been lodged inside of him had gone through the bone and out through his back. She was positive that someone of her own race would have never survived such a grievous injury, but in only a few days he had healed right up. “Hurt.”

                The man on the table gasped when she put a little pressure on the bandage covering the stitches and immediately tried to see what she was doing. “ _A’hir. Ah, zua_.”

                Ami got a small mirror when he kept trying to look, and immediately watched him sag into the table and relax when he saw the bandage in the angled reflection. Good, he finally understood what she was trying to do. “I’ll get to the one on your leg and treat your cold burns when I’m done with your shoulder,” she informed him despite the language barrier.

                “ _Au en, zua_ ,” he replied when she picked up the scissors again and cut off the gauze, then began to slowly, carefully remove his stitches, mentally noting that there was barely any blood when she pulled out the tiny, precise sutures.

                “It’s amazing how fast you healed. A man from Mercury would have healed faster than a human or a Venusian, but he would have still been laid up for four weeks while those bones healed,” she commented, hoping idly that he would eventually understand something she said if she kept talking. “And your bones are the densest I’ve ever seen; it’s made me wonder if you can even go in the water without sinking straight to the bottom.”

                Ami continued her aimless chatter as she removed all of the stitches, and once she was finished, she set her scissors and tweezers on the tray along with the bits of surgical thread. “Now for your leg,” she informed him, tapping his thigh. “You had another piece of shrapnel in there, but it wasn’t nearly as big and it didn’t hit the artery. Hold still.”

                The giant of a man did as he was told and just watched her with interest as she slid his pants down over his hips, his lips twitching at the way her face reddened in embarrassment. “ _Au t’uh k’sha’or_?”

                “Oh, I totally know perverted teasing when I hear it,” Ami scolded him, shaking her gloved finger in admonishment. “I may not know much about men, but my sister is the goddess of lust and I have to listen to her potty mouth all the time. So don’t get fresh with me.”

                “ _G’in, sh_ ,” he replied with a little chuckle, obviously catching her tone.

                “If that was a ‘yes ma’am,’ I’d advise you not to forget it,” Ami responded primly, turning on her doctor-brain to ignore the size of his assets in lieu of taking out his catheter before she started on his stitches. “Now… this is going to be a little uncomfortable, but I promise I’ll be quick,” she stated as she deflated the balloon that was keeping it in place just inside of his bladder. Ami slid out the tubing slowly to spare him pain, noting the way his jaw clenched even though he didn’t make a sound, and when she was done, she gave his thigh a little pat and smiled approvingly. “Good job. Now, I’ll empty the bag, wash up, and get some fresh gloves.”

                Doing just that only took a couple minutes, and when she returned, he was waiting patiently, frowning remorsefully up at her face. “Well, at least you feel bad about it. Doesn’t mean I’m taking my chances, though.” His reply came in the form of his tail suddenly coming into view, and Ami froze at the sight of it, her eyes wide when it smoothly came up and stroked the ugly bruise on her jaw.

##################################

                Nappa’s beast had definitely gotten the better of him with the whole tail thing, and as he laid on the cot in the corner, he reflected that maybe his beast should have considered her utter terror of him. If it had, he wouldn’t have wound up getting his tail squeezed to the point of excruciating agony when she’d grabbed it and flung it towards him, nor would she have fled out the door behind the table, tears of fear spilling down her cheeks. “Damn it, Blue, I’m sorry,” he sighed to no one.

                He’d only wanted to check her injuries and find some way to apologize for causing them, so when she’d left and the manacles on the table had popped open a few minutes later, Nappa had sat up slowly and looked around the room, surveying the locked cabinets and drawers on the far side of it as well as the modest sleeping pallet. And the mess was still on the floor, as well as the full tray of instruments perched on the foot of the bed, so Nappa decided to make himself useful and began to remove his own remaining stitches, his hands moving expertly from years of taking care of his own injuries.

                The stuff on the floor was next and Nappa took it all to the sink, used his nose to figure out which bottle was full of bleach, and put everything from both trays in there to soak in a solution to sterilize them, along with the trays themselves. Maybe the little physician would see his efforts to help her and she would forgive him for hurting her.

                That would at least be a tiny step in the right direction, he realized. A very tiny step. Forgiveness was one thing. Trust was another. And he’d hurt her badly. She was downright terrified of him, and with the language barrier between them, he couldn’t properly apologize and explain that he hadn’t a single memory of what he’d done to her. He couldn’t even verbally explain that he would never, ever hurt her again and that he had even felt the pull for her.

                Nappa was still deep in thought when he heard a tapping on the glass, and he looked up to find her on the other side of it, the sight of her setting his beast to purring as he got up and immediately pressed his hand to the window. “Blue, I’m sorry I scared you, I only wanted to check your face, but since my hands were tied I—“

                A wave of her hand silenced him, and the little doctor suddenly pointed at her own chest. “Ami.”

                Her name! She’d given him her name! And what a lovely, fitting name to have, considering the circumstances of their meeting. “ _Ah m’yo_ ,” he chuckled. “My pain. How fitting.”

                “No. Ami.”

                “Ah-Mee,” Nappa replied softly, knowing that he wasn’t pronouncing it quite right, but still worshipping the sound of it all the same. “Nappa,” he added, pointing at himself. Then he pointed at her, only to repeat her name as his other hand briefly caressed the glass. “Ah-Mee.”

                “Nappa.”

                #############################

                “ _G’in. M’eh_ Nappa. _Au_ Ah-Mee.”

                The little doctor couldn’t help the tiny smile gracing her lips at the sound of him drawing out the vowels in her name, but she frowned when he began to point at her face and then at his own, guilt shining in his eyes.

                “ _Mah’ni_ , Ah-Mee. _Mah’ni_.”

                He was apologizing, wasn’t he? She only realized that just before he began to talk again, pointing at her face and neck, his fingers tracing her bruises through the glass. “I don’t understand, Nappa.”

                “ _A’hir. Au a’hir. V’nu a’hir_?” He repeated, this time pointing to her arms, chest, and stomach.

                “Oh.” Ami shook her head slightly and was surprised that he was even asking about her injuries other than to apologize for them, but she did appreciate his show of concern. Didn’t mean she’d trust him, though. “Here,” she said as she pointed to her stomach, then again at the center of her chest where he’d burned her slightly with his ki.

                “Ah-Mee…” Nappa’s face grew utterly grave then, and he slowly pointed to his own groin, making sure that she was watching before pointing to hers. “ _A’hir_?”

                Since she’d been caring for him since he’d fallen unconscious, Ami was very familiar with his manly assets and couldn’t help but blush at the first thought that popped into her head. _I’m sure I’d be hurt if he had… hell, he would have likely split me in two!_ She shook off that thought when he continued to wait for her response, his black eyes stormy with guilt, his mouth turned down grimly. “Oh… no. No aheer. You didn’t rape me, Nappa… trust me, if you had…” Her lips twitched up slightly, her own eyes glinting with dark humor. “You wouldn’t have woken up. And if I hadn’t done the deed, I’m sure my sisters would already be putting you through some form of agonizing torture. Especially Rei and Ruka. Probably Sets, too.”

                The sheer relief on his face and the way he visibly relaxed when he rumbled something with a touch of amusement in his voice told her that he’d understood her thinly veiled threat. “Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page. Are you hungry?” She asked, pointing to her own stomach and then rubbing it. “Eat?”

                “ _Ad._ _G’in_ , Ah-Mee. _Buh’tir_.”

                “ _Ad_. Eat?” Ami confirmed, cracking the tiniest of smiles when he nodded slightly, never taking his intelligent black eyes off of her face. “Guh-een… yes?” She asked as she nodded her head.

                “ ** _G’in_** , Ah-Mee. _F’ri_ Guuuh-eeen.”

                Gods, was he making fun of her!? Ami’s jaw dropped at the and she wrinkled her nose in annoyance before shaking her head no. “Free.” She shook it again.

                Another nod, but he didn’t bother to correct her pronunciation; apparently she was close enough. “J—Jeshh.”

                “Yes.”

                “Jesh.”

                “Close enough,” she chuckled. She pointed to herself then, then at the door in the room on her side of the glass. “I go… get _ad_.” She then pointed at the cot. “You sit.”

                “Shit. Jesh.”

#################################

                Nappa couldn’t figure out what he’d said that was so overwhelmingly hilarious, but the sound of the little blue-haired doctor’s laughter was infectious, and he found himself grinning like a silly little boy when she had to sit down from the force of her laughter.

                Apparently his cluelessness showed though, because Ah-Mee repeated the word he’d just said, “shit”, and then pointed at her bottom, then at the commode on his side of the glass. “Oooooh! Ha…hahahahaha…HAHAHAHAHA… I said shit! I guess it’s close to your word for sit down!” He realized as he joined in on her laughter.

                Once the raucous laughing had died down to giggles, Ah-Mee made a few more gestures and left her side of the glass, and it was then that Nappa realized that he could easily just go through the wall or that two-way glass, or even the door. He’d just use a little bit of ki and…

                “No, I’d scare her again, probably worse than the last time,” he muttered. “And she’s my mate. I shouldn’t terrify my mate like that, even if I mean well and I just want to show her that I won’t hurt her. No,” he repeatedly softly, “I’ll stay put and be patient, and she’ll see in a couple of days that I don’t mean her any harm and she’ll let me out.”


	2. Chapter 2

“He’s quite the specimen,” Setsuna giggled with a waggle of her eyebrows. “You sure you took enough pictures of his groin area? Because I think a few more are needed, especially first thing in the morning—“

                “Sets, really!?” Ami protested hotly, her cheeks flaming red. Never mind that she’d had the very same perverted thought about his extremely impressive equipment, but she certainly wasn’t going to voice it! “You shouldn’t even be talking; you’re just as much a virgin as I am!”

                “One doesn’t have to bite the apple to know it’s sweet, Ami-chan,” Sets replied saucily. “And might I add that that is one _mighty_ **_big_** apple. And furthermore, I’m a lot less of a virgin than you are thanks to a little thing called the jackrabbit. Ok, fine. Not so little,” she amended with a wink and a grin.

                “You’ve been hanging out with Minako again, haven’t you?” She sighed as she flipped through bloodwork results that she’d just received from Pluto.

                “Guilty as charged! Just took a trip to the moon a few days ago to visit Serenity and Usa, and Mina and I had another little shopping trip in the red light district. Wanna see what I bought?”

                “Noooo,” Ami drawled out. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

                “It takes batteries and it shakes!”

                “Nope nope nope, I don’t want to see it, thank you very much! I’ve seen enough penis for one day and I don’t need to see an artificial one!”

                Grinning at her little sister’s beet red face, Setsuna suddenly pulled out a long box and whipped out the object before Ami could disconnect their call, grinning ear to ear when the blue-haired doctor just narrowed her eyes and sighed in exasperation. “See? Who’s the pervert now, Ami?”

                “It’s an alarm clock shaped like testicles. Still perverted,” Ami huffed. “And I don’t believe for a moment that that’s all you bought on your trip.”

                “Oh, fine. You got me there! But it’s not nearly as big as your giant warrior! And come on, it’s cute! Now I can tell potential suitors that I already have a pair of balls waking me up every morning!” Setsuna grinned mischievously when Ami’s lips twitched up at that last part; she knew she’d be able to make her serious little sister smile eventually. “See, I _am_ funny!”

                “I bet those balls wake you vigorously, too,” Ami giggled despite her blush.

                “Yeah, but they’re awfully loud when I smash them into the wall.”

                That had Ami rolling, and she could no longer hold back her laughter, her hands holding her sides as her head thumped lightly onto the console. “Oh gods, too funny! Those poor balls whenever you want to sleep in!”

                “Balls to the wall?” Setsuna asked with a laugh.

                Ami only laughed harder, hiccupping from the force between guffaws, but when a tap to the glass in front of her came, she looked up sharply and turned the color of a sunset at the sight of her patient. Prisoner. Specimen. Hell, whatever he was. “Um… uh… HIC! Hi?” She squeaked out.

                “You hit the button with your forehead didn’t you!?” Setsuna cackled.

                “Hi,” came Nappa’s reply as he smiled down at her and wiggled his fingers in greeting; something he’d learned to do in the last week whenever she’d turn the glass clear and wave at him to get his attention.

                Ami had waved like that for years whenever she was feeling shy, and she felt her face heat up even further as she quickly hid printouts of the photos she’d taken of him as he’d slept, wondering if he knew what they’d been laughing and carrying on about. “Hi?” She asked again in embarrassment.

                “Ami?” Setsuna broke in, smiling like she was plotting something. “I know you’re scared of him, but I don’t think he’s going to hurt you. Why don’t you let him out?”

                Seeing Nappa frown, Ami knew she must have turned white as a sheet at that suggestion, and she quickly shook her head no at her older sister. “Sets, I don’t think I can do that,” she whispered heatedly. “I… I mean I… I…”

                “No, stop, Ami. I’m sorry. You have every reason to be terrified of letting him out after what he did when he landed… I only meant that I don’t think he even remembers doing it. You said he looked guilty as hell when he first saw you right? And that he seemed to be apologizing a lot?”

                “Yes, but…” Ami trembled at the thought of letting him out of the cell—she’d fought him off the first time mostly because of his injuries, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would likely kill her if he tried the same thing while he was fully healed. “Maybe in a few days,” she whispered.

                “Ah-Mee? _Au en_?” Nappa asked softly.

                “He sounds sweet, you know. I can hear the concern in his voice, baby sister. You take all the time you need to feel comfortable with the idea of setting him free, but I’m telling you that I don’t think he means you any harm. In fact, from watching some of the footage you’ve sent me, his body language when the two of you interact tells me that he cares about you.” Never mind that his body language actually _screamed_ that the man was in love with her; Setsuna didn’t want to absolutely terrify her with that bit of information.

                “Ah-Mee?” He asked a second time, his hand caressing the glass as he gazed through it and down at the pale doctor. “Joo… joo vant go?” He asked slowly, clearly trying to find the right words. “I go?”

                She dared to look up at him then, and if Setsuna had been able to see him, she would have immediately commented on how downright smitten the man was as he looked into her eyes. “No, Nappa, I’m ok. Muh-ay _en_. Sorry, I just… I was talking to my sister,” she explained even though she knew he wouldn’t understand, her finger pointing at the computer screen.

                “I have to say, that accent is sexy,” the queen of Pluto remarked. “And if I hadn’t seen the scores on his problem solving tests—what parts of them you could actually give him anyway—I would actually be surprised at how much of our language he’s learned. He’s highly intelligent for such a giant muscley man.”

                “I know,” Ami grumbled, glancing back and forth between the computer and the object of their conversation as he just smiled patiently and waited for her to finish.

                “You want me to go?” Setsuna asked with a wink. “You seem awfully distracted by a certain warrior with the body of a god and the cock of a—“

                “That’s quite enough of that,” Ami hissed out, her cheeks burning once more.

                “Stallion,” Setsuna finished with a wide grin, pleased that she was so effectively trolling the one sister that she was immensely close with. Funny, how the oldest and the youngest would be so much alike—Hotaru wasn’t counted of course, since she was more like a daughter than a sibling. “You’re going to hang up on me now, aren’t you?”

                “I’m considering it.”

                “Well, before you do, his blood work came back inconclusive; I may as well save you reading over all the paperwork I sent you—even though I know you’ll read it anyway in bed… hey, maybe you’re looking at those pictures in bed, too?—anyway… the DNA tests came up a total blank, and the tapes of you two talking came up with nothing as well; there is no record of his language or a similar language family in any of our databases out here.”

                “So you’re telling me that there’s no other tests we can run?”

                “I don’t know, Ami, your database on Mercury and in the archives on the moon is way bigger than we have in the outer rim; what I want is for you get me is the full works of samples. Urine, semen, blood, stool, skin, hair. Everything. Then the photos and some more tapes of him speaking. I’m going to the moon again in a week or two, so I’ll take them with me and run everything through the computers there. Freeze the perishables and box them up and I’ll teleport there and get them when you’ve got everything we need. Sound good?”

                ################################

                The picture of patience as he listened to Ah-Mee and another woman speak through some sort of square-shaped scouter, Nappa just observed like he always did, deducing that they were discussing him due to the way Ah-Mee kept glancing up at him, her face bright red in embarrassment. They were probably talking about his more manly assets, and judging by the other woman’s tone of voice, someone really appreciated them.

                Well, at least someone did… though he kept hoping beyond hope that Ah-Mee would put aside her fear of him in favor of her attraction to him. There was no denying the way she blushed whenever she looked at him or when she caught him watching her—which was often, since Nappa didn’t hide the fact that he never took his eyes off of her whenever she was present.

                He knew it probably seemed creepy to her, that she didn’t understand why he was staring, but he couldn’t help himself. She was his mate; the being he’d given up on meeting over a hundred years ago when the female population on Vegeta-sai had taken a huge blow during the Great War with Althea. Sure, he could have felt it for a male, but since he wasn’t really attracted to his own sex, he knew he’d likely never, ever feel it.

                But he had only a week ago when he’d woken to find a bruised up, battered, blue-haired angel… one that he’d hurt. He couldn’t remember doing it, sure—but he beat himself up about it whenever he’d see her wince when she smiled or moved. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen her make a pained face in over twenty-four hours, and the bruises on the left side of her face had healed up to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman.

                A woman that he couldn’t help fantasizing about vividly whenever she wasn’t around, especially at night when she cut off all the lights and he knew that the surveillance cameras couldn’t see him stroking himself to release with his tail while he faced the wall and curled up under the generous amount of blankets she’d found for him.

                That always made him chuckle when he thought about it; those stupid blankets were so tiny! They barely even covered a third of him, and the pallet he’d been lying on ended at his knees. He hadn’t complained, of course, but Ah-Mee had noticed it the first morning after he’d come to and had immediately brought him three more—one to widen the sleeping space since it was ridiculously tight due to his large frame, and two more to even it out length-wise. Then had come the blankets and the pillows, and Nappa had to admit that for a jail cell of sorts, it was insanely cozy. Hell, it even had a bathroom attached to it with a shower that was a bit too small, but it did the job. Nappa just had to make sure to tuck his elbows when he turned.

                Lacking books in his own language to read, his Ah-Mee had produced several notebooks and quite a few writing utensils on the second day, so Nappa had occupied himself with writing and drawing. He’d never been much for the written word, but hell—what in the fuck else was he supposed to do with sixteen hours of daylight to burn? Most of the drawing were scouter designs and diagrams; his had been destroyed, and with no way to possibly contact Raditz to—no. Better not to think about Raditz and his young, vulnerable prince; he’d only wind up making himself crazy wondering if Frieza had seen through their plan and had gone after Raditz instead of himself.

                _Gods, please, I don’t ask for much because sometimes I just simply don’t believe in you. But if you’re real… really real… please let Frieza have followed me and not Raditz. Please let them be safe somewhere._

                He also trained, of course—as much as he could within the twenty by twenty room—but working out and keeping himself in shape only burned a few hours out of every day before he got bored with it, and since he couldn’t throw ki blasts or power up for fear of terrifying his mate again, he kept his work outs simple. Katas and exercises to keep his muscles up, and weight lifting by using the steel exam table in the middle of the room. It was honestly the bare minimum, but for Ah-Mee’s sake, he’d do anything.

                “Nappa?”

                “Mmm?”

                “Cards?”

                The blush on her face told him that they’d definitely been discussing him while he’d been off in his own little world, but he didn’t let on that he knew; he only nodded and grabbed a chair, overjoyed that he was going to spend some time with her and banter back and forth in what few words they knew of each other’s language.

                Playing cards with Ah-Mee had been one of the biggest steps they’d made towards understanding each other, since it had required him to learn their numbering system, which had been ridiculously easy since the cards were only numbered to ten. With a show of fingers whenever he got confused about the symbols on the laminated paper, Nappa quickly learned how to count to ten. He’d also learned Jack, Queen, King and Ace, and had taught her _ve’ho_ , _ve’sh_ and _ve’ta_ in turn, as well as how to count to ten in Saiyan.

                He’d also learned a few swear words from her too. Not many, but he’d learned “what the hell!?” when he’d beaten her in something she called _po’ker_ for the very first time, “assho” from the aftermath of that game when he wouldn’t stop laughing at her pissed off expression, and then “fuck” from when she’d spilled hot coffee on her blouse on the third day. Gods, she’d blushed redder than he’d ever seen when she’d realized she’d said that word aloud, so it must have been something equivalent to _tapa_ in his own language. And of course, there was “shit,” which was now a running joke that never failed to make both of them chuckle.

                “ _Po’ker_?” He inquired when she came over to the glass and ordered the computer to raise it up three inches, making sure to keep his hands back and in view.

                Gods, that was another thing that had made him purr like a boy smelling a woman in heat for the first time—the first instance when she’d raised that glass so that they could exchange drawings back and forth so that they could better communicate, Nappa had smelled her without needing to be strapped down to the exam table.

                And it had been heaven.

                Sure, the Saiyan general had been overly tempted to just break the glass then or to reach through the gap to touch her in an effort to prove that he wouldn’t hurt her, but he’d prudently decided not to out of concern for her frame of mind. She’d been trembling the first time she’d raised the glass, and she’d only pulled it up by one inch that day—just enough for them to exchange papers and for her to slide through a star chart in an effort to find out where he was from. They hadn’t had any luck in that department since he hadn’t seen a single galaxy from his quadrant in that book, but he’d enjoyed her scent for over an hour while he’d tried his best to do as she asked of him.

                Now the glass was up by three inches. Ah-Mee had taken a chance only yesterday, and instead of closing the glass and pushing his lunch through the slot in the door, she’d given him a nervous look, stepped back, and had told the computer to pull it up a little. And Nappa had been a good boy. He hadn’t moved a muscle, the very picture of obedience while she slid the massive, food-laden tray through the gap.

                That had been the first meal that they’d shared, and while there was no way in hell that he could feed her like the good mate he wanted to be, he’d still relished the fact that he’d spent that time with her and had even shared some of his food by pushing it back through. Then she’d stunned him by doing the exact same thing—she must have noted his like for the little fried pieces of seafood that he always ate first, and Ah-Mee had given him some of hers in exchange for the balls of rice wrapped in some sort of dark substance that he knew she preferred.

                “Nappa?” Ah-Mee added something else he didn’t understand, but judging by her tiny smile and the cards already dealt out, he’d let his mind wander again.

                “ _Mah’ni_ ,” he answered with a grin as he scooped up his cards and scratched at his head thoughtfully. “Vun,” Nappa rumbled as he took in the numbers and realized that he had an open straight.

                ###########################

                “Only one?” Ami asked in surprise. “Must have gotten a good deal.” She slid him his card then and indicated with her fingers and a gesture that she was taking three, and once the new cards were handed out, she immediately folded. “Your game.”

                “Feh,” he grunted, showing his cards.

                “Wow, Nappa, a straight, very good! I’m glad I folded this time or you would have likely heard me cuss a blue streak like the other day!” She giggled. “Oh, by the way… table.” The way he instantly stiffened at that word made her smile fade, and not for the first time, Ami wished that they’d met under less violence circumstances. She’d thought about letting him out more than once, but every time she nearly went through with it she started trembling and crying as she remembered his brutality towards her out on Eris’s dark surface.

                “ _G’in_ ,” Nappa sighed, laying his cards down on the counter’s surface, only to stop when she motioned for him to sit.

                “Not yet,” she added apologetically before pointing to the clock. “Table at seven. Ok?” Thank Mercury, the clock was something he’d immediately comprehended, and once he’d learned their numbers it had been a lot easier for her to just schedule times for him to go to the table and lie still so that the restraints could clamp down around his hands.

                The first couple of days had been difficult in regards to taking samples since he only shook his head whenever she’d opened and closed the manacles with a button on the console to signal that it was exam time. But now she could give him notice so that he could get used to the idea; he clearly hated that table and hated being restrained, period, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why he was complying with her wishes without an argument when it was clear that he hated it so much. Unless he was trying to gain her trust… which was very likely.

                If he hadn’t nearly killed her as he’d pinned her down by the throat out in the pitch black of Eris, the ki ball in his other hand burning her chest as his low, feral, terrifying growl broke the air within the energy shields that they’d both built up around themselves to withstand the vacuum of space, then Ami might have let him out the second day. But whenever she thought about freeing him she relived that memory and nearly had a panic attack. Dear gods, she’d nearly died out there, and if it hadn’t been for his injuries weakening him, she would have!

                “Ah-Mee.”

                It was her turn to look up in surprise as she realized she’d gotten lost in her thoughts, and she found Nappa watching her intensely, his eyes full of remorse. “ _Mah’ni_ , Ah-Mee _m’yo_. I… I sorree. I…” He scrunched up his face as he paused in thought, clearly trying to find the right word. “Tarble,” he stated seriously. “No… no moar. Joo. I.”

                Ami had to admit that she was impressed with his effort at communication, but she quickly shook her head, her blue eyes wide in fear.

                “Ah-Mee,” Nappa sighed wearily, “I no moar…” He closed his fist then and shook it, then pointed at her face. “No moar _a’hir. J’ha nava m’yo_.”

                His big, dark, emotional eyes nearly did her in, and Ami was opening her mouth to tell him that she would postpone the exam as she thought it over… but then she felt the largest hand she’d ever seen close around her own, the thumb stroking gently over her pulse… and she panicked.

############################################

                _I touched her. Dear gods, I actually fucking touched her,_ Nappa thought in awe as he recalled the immediate tingle he’d felt shivering down his spinal cord, right to his tail, setting his beast to briefly purr in delight.

                He’d touched her until she’d yelped loudly at the computer and he’d nearly lost his hand to the glass sliding back into place, anyway. She wouldn’t talk to him either, not even when he went to the door and kept calling for her through the slot in the door, not when he apologized what felt like a million times. Yeah… he’d really fucked up. But at the same time… _I touched her. And her skin was even softer than I’d imagined._

“And I got out of the exam anyway,” he added as he tried his best to find the full silver lining. “Even if it did mean an early ‘lights out.’ Pht… oh well. Just means I can imagine the softest skin in the universe for an extra thirty minutes before I go to sleep. In fact…”

                Nappa couldn’t help his own lecherous grin as he wrapped his tail around his bare cock and let his thoughts turn to the beautiful little doctor, his imagination taking over as he closed his eyes in the dark and began to stroke himself slowly.

                Slow… _always_ slow. That was the way he always took her in his fantasies when he thought about her at night and brought himself to climax with his tail. Sometimes it took him an hour to reach orgasm due to the agonizingly unhurried pace, but Nappa just counted that as practice for when he finally gained her trust enough to be let out, to be allowed free contact with her.

                Gods, just the thought of freely being allowed to touch her skin had him rock hard, and a little groan escaped his lips as he let himself be fully absorbed in the fantasy running through his mind.

                _Ah-Mee was in his room—in his territory—as always, and he had her pressed to the wall as she blushed up at him, her soft hands exploring his bare chest, sliding down his abs slowly before they moved to his hips and around to the small of his back._

_“I want you,” she whispered shyly. “But… go slow?”_

_“I’ll take you anyway you want me to, Ah-Mee, just so long as I can have you,” he breathed as he stooped and his lips descended to her throat, licking and kissing their way over to her shoulder. Nappa pushed the lab coat to the floor then and continued his path, stripping her of her shirt in the process, nipping at the creamy swell of her shoulder the moment it was bared, letting his hands wander and knead and caress her small breasts until she was panting from her level of arousal._

_“The bed,” he purred in her ear before lifting her against him and taking her there, laying her down amongst the pile of blankets in his little nest. “Relax,” he added when she stiffened momentarily at the way he was covering her, his entire body hemming her in. “I’ll give you only pleasure, I swear it on my tail.”_

_“I know, it’s just… you’re a lot bigger than me, Nappa.”_

_The way she breathed his name made him purr happily, and he finally employed his tail pheromones to help her relax. Gods, he’d wanted to do that since he’d first laid eyes on her; he’d wanted nothing more than to use them to arouse her, but he’d been so terrified of scaring her that he’d kept his tail in check. But now… now she was wet and willing and he could use his tail to keep her from tensing up when he first filled her— which would only hurt her due to her petite size. “I know I am, baby. But don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise. Only pleasure.”_

_He was kissing her breasts the moment she nodded up at him, taking one perfect little pink nipple into his mouth and suckling it gently, his hands growing bolder as she let out a gasp or a whimper with every little pull of his lips. “Gods, I want you so bad right now, Blue,” he groaned as he turned his head to worship her other breast, immediately giving it the sweet attention that the neglected little bud was aching for._

_“Kay,” she whimpered as she wrapped her legs around his waist and raised her hips in silent permission, so aroused by his pheromones that she was willing to comply with just about anything he asked of her._

_“Not yet,” he breathed as he slipped his hand between her thighs and pushed one massive digit inside of her, hooking it inwards in a slow and steady rhythm the moment he found her good spot, his thumb joining in to caress her swollen clit. “Come for me, Ah-Mee,” he urged her as he went back to her shoulder, unable to resist nipping at it some more as his beast tried to make him bite down._

Not yet _, he kept telling himself._ Not yet _._ I’ll bite her when she’s coming with me inside of her.

_“Nappa… please… I’m close,” she mewled as she clutched at the back of his head with one hand and at his wrist with the other, trying in vain to make him move his fingers faster and harder. “Please!”_

_“Slow,” he purred in response as he withdrew, only to add a second finger to stretch her, her low moan of pleasure immediately meeting his ears. “I don’t break promises, especially to my mate. I want you dripping wet when you take me in you, Ah-Mee,” he added as he licked the lobe of her ear. “I want you coming before you even take every inch of me… and then again as I make you mine, and then over and over until you’re finally satisfied, until you can take no more pleasure and you’re begging me to come for you.”_

_A moan of his name was all she could manage in response to that, her big blue eyes looking up at him, clouded with lust and pleasure as he finally gave her what she craved and moved his fingers fractionally harder, making her head roll back, her sweet voice crying out softly, her walls clenching and spasming around the wide digits penetrating her._

_“That’s it, my Ah-Mee… gods, I can’t wait for you to squeeze my cock like that.”_

_“Yes,” she begged softly, trying to pull him to her again, offering her body as her mouth and hands finally began to wander him freely, her shyness forgotten in the afterglow. “Please, Nappa, please just get in me. I need you, Nappa, **please** …”_

_“Not yet, beloved,” he sighed into her hair. “Gods, I want you, too, but not yet. I don’t want to hurt you ever again.” He nipped at her lower lip when she tried to protest once more, then shook his head as he slid down her body, moving his fingers again, but this time in circles to stretch her out. “I’ve dreamed of kissing you, baby, so lay back and enjoy it,” he purred when she choked out something that sounded like another plea, and when he felt her relax a little he slipped his tongue between her folds to tease and massage her clit, licking her slowly, sucking at it gently whenever she’d reward him with a soft moan of approval._

_She was coming again within minutes, and while Nappa wanted to stay down there and relish the taste of her for a little while longer and maybe coax a few more orgasms from her, she was begging for him again in earnest, her voice coming out as a sob when he shook his head in reply. His tail had definitely done its job; she was soaked even if she wasn’t stretched out quite enough for his liking, and her arousal was perfuming the air so strongly that his beast was starting to break through the little cage in his mind._

_“Please, Nappa, please,” she begged desperately, pulling at his shoulders in an effort to bring him back up. “I need you inside of me, Nappa, I can’t wait any more, I’m about to go insane!”_

_“Alright,” he whispered between kisses to her hard, pink clit, his fingers still stimulating her as they stretched her entrance. “But if I hurt you, Ah-Mee… even a little…”_

_“You won’t,” she sighed in relief as he slid back up and kicked off his pants, grinding his engorged cock up against her to get it slick before he positioned himself at her entrance, his mouth once more worshipping her shoulder. “Gods yes… please, yes, Nappa,” she whimpered, pressing down on his lower back as she simultaneously wrapped her legs around his upper thighs, her throat exposed in utter trust to his beast as he breached her and she moaned her pleasure._

_“So fucking tight… gods, Ah-Mee… my Ah-Mee…” Nappa was pushing into her then, wishing that he’d stretched her more so that he could simply ease into that sweet, hot cavern, keeping the slight flexing of his hips slow and gentle so as not to hurt her. “Tell me if I’m hurting you, Ah-Mee,” he practically whimpered, “please say something if it’s even a little uncomfortable. I’d die if I ever hurt you again, if you were ever afraid of me harming you… if you didn’t trust me anymore…”_

_“Shhh… it’s alright, Nappa… I love you,” she whispered up at him, her cheeks turning red at the confession even as her body began to sing from the way he was already halfway inside of her, her hips now instinctively rocking in time with his as he continued the slow, careful pushing. “And it doesn’t hurt,” she assured him. “It feels so good… I’ve never felt so full before.”_

_“I might not be able to give you all of me, baby,” he realized as he continued to nibble at her shoulder, relishing the way she shivered whenever he’d bite down just hard enough to bruise. “Tell me when it’s enough, ok? Gods… you’re so tiny… so fucking tight…”_

_With a little nod, she began to nibble at his shoulder in turn and he groaned loudly as little zings of ecstasy ran right through him, making him push further into her, his eyes rolling back when she moaned his name and her walls began to squeeze him. “Nappa… Nappa, I’m about to come,” she warned him breathlessly as she clutched at him. “Pl—please…”_

_He withdrew a little at that, his arms trembling from the strain that his beast had him under, and Nappa pushed back in a bit deeper, repeating the action when she moaned deliriously and raked her nails down his back. “Mmm… just as I wanted it, too,” he purred when her body locked around him like a wet silky vice, her voice crying out his name in satisfaction._

_“Good, now make me yours,” the little doctor ordered softly, pulling him down to her to kiss and suck at his jaw and neck. “Gods, I love you… please, Nappa…”_

_It took several more minutes of careful, gentle thrusting, but Nappa was finally locked inside of her to the hilt, amazed that her perfect body had actually accepted his intimidating length and girth, overjoyed that she hadn’t once asked him to stop and that she was moving against him wantonly in a request for him to move._

_And move he did, keeping his motions soft and lazy, letting his tail and fingers wander her as he paid ample attention to her shoulder while her mewls and moans of ecstasy let him know that he was loving her just right, that she was enjoying him as much as he was her. Lifting her hips for a deeper angle, Nappa purred loudly when she started to come for him yet again, and without a hint of hesitation he sunk his teeth into her shoulder._

_“Nappa!”_

“Holy—Blue!” He rasped out as he tightened his tail around his cock for what felt like the millionth time in an hour, his essence staining the towel he’d dried off with after his shower. “Dear gods… Ah-Mee…” It took him several minutes to recover from the overwhelmingly strong orgasm, but when Nappa finally did he took care of the towel and fell back into bed in a heap of exhaustion. “Wish that had been real,” he sighed. “Gods, what I wouldn’t give to make it real…”

###########################

After sliding Nappa’s breakfast tray through the slot, Ami groggily took her place at the console and began to work, only to stop herself after several minutes and hit the button to turn the opaque observation glass clear. “Nappa, I’m sor—“ The sight of him lying down on the exam table stopped her, and she blinked in surprise to see him beckon for her to come in.

“Tarble,” he sighed. “I tarble. Joo…” He shrugged, clearly not knowing the right words to explain, even though his meaning was clear as day. “ _Mah’ni_ , Ah-Mee.”

If she only knew what her soft, shy smile was doing to him, or how he simply relished the sight of it, she would have been flabbergasted. “Look, Nappa… I’m not mad. But I’m clearly experiencing some psychological issues when you get too close. I know you didn’t mean any harm yesterday, but until I can fully trust you… I can’t let you out, ok?”

“No unnastan,” he sighed before pointing at one of the manacles with his tail. “Tarble,” he repeated.

Amazed by his unexpected submission, Ami could only hit the switch to close the restraints and she hurried in so that he wouldn’t need to be strapped down for too long, but when she was beside him and she got a good look at his face, she sighed. “Did you sleep at all last night?” The bags under his eyes were as heavy and dark as her own, and she wondered if nightmares had kept him up as they had for her. “No sleep?” She inquired again, pillowing her head on her heads to pantomime the word.

“ _F’ri_ ,” he sighed. “ _F’ri m’kor_. Sorree, Ah-Mee.”

                Before she could think twice about it, her bare hand ran lightly over his scalp, and Ami started a bit when he suddenly began to purr. Sure, she’d heard that sound a few times and she knew it meant contentment for him, but the way his eyes slipped shut at the absent caress spoke of nothing but utter pleasure. _I wonder…_ “Nappa? It’s ok. No sorry,” she whispered as she ran her hand over his scalp once more to test a theory. “Will you sleep when we’re done?”

                “ _G’re_ ,” he murmured as he cracked his eyes open to gaze up at her, the pure joy in his eyes flooring her. “Tarble. _Ad_. _M’kor_.”

                “Um… good,” she managed in a strangled voice, giving his shoulder a little squeeze before she washed her hands, put on gloves and gathered her supplies. “I guess I’ll be kind and trust you to get the stool and urine samples without me just taking them,” she chuckled as she sat the sample cups aside. “You’re definitely going to get that semen on your own,” Ami added with a chuckle as she tied off his arm and motioned for him to make a fist.

                She got the blood samples easily enough, but when it came time to get a little hair, she would have scratched at her head if she hadn’t been wearing gloves. “Nappa… I need a hair sample. But you don’t exactly have any,” she realized. He was clearly confused, so she pulled out a pair of scissors and clipped off a lock of her own hair before pointing at his mustache. “Yes?”

                “ _F’ri_ ,” he said with a quick shake of his head, immediately presenting his tail. 

                “Hm… ok, I can make this work. Your facial hair doesn’t grow back very fast anyway; I get it. I think I only shaved you once while you were out.” Ami took the offered tail in hand, but blinked in surprise when his purr got louder and he let out a little rumble of pleasure. And was he… “Oh my!” She squeaked, immediately releasing his tail. “Um… uh… it seems that your tail is…” Her blue eyes stared at the tent in his pants owlishly. “Um… an erogenous zone.”

                “Sorree,” Nappa answered with a sheepish little grin, his cheeks coloring slightly. “ _Nava_ ,” he offered with a nod to his tail.

                “ _Nava_ ,” Ami repeated as she tried her best to ignore the bulge in his pants and she took his tail in hand once more. “Tail. Now… don’t move.” She got her sample quickly from the stray long hairs at the tip and was pleased that she didn’t leave a bald spot as she packed away the hairs in a little baggy. “Thank you. Duh-een meeyo.”

                Nappa just nodded, a tiny smile gracing his lips until she came back to the head of the table with a swab in hand, and he dutifully opened his mouth when she motioned for him to do so. “No moar?” He asked when she removed her gloves.

                “No more.” Ami pointed at the jars then and tried not to blush when she pointed at his still-erect penis. “I need you to pee in this one. Then…” Her cheeks definitely colored as she made a vague hand gesture and pointed at the second cup, and then again at his groin. “And the third…” She pointed at her bottom, then his, then the last jar. “Got it?”

                “Shit?” He snickered, which as always, didn’t fail to make her giggle.

                “Yeah, Nappa. Shit,” she laughed, the sound of it making him purr.


	3. Chapter 3

“Sorry, Nappa,” Ami apologized softly when she entered the room and immediately pulled out a tape measure. “I promise I won’t be long; I know you hate this table. But I’m really grateful for all of your cooperation lately,” she added with a smile.

The moment she’d signaled by closing and opening the manacles, Nappa had immediately gone right to it and had laid down without argument, giving her a long, indescribable look through the glass. Clearly he still felt bad about scaring her off when he’d reached through the glass. Even though it had been days ago, she still hadn’t dared to lift the glass high enough for him to reach through again, even though he’d been perfectly obedient whenever she’d asked something of him.

He was obviously trying to regain her trust.

“You won’t regret holding still, I’m almost done with my little surprise,” she added conversationally as she measured his arms and legs for the millionth time that week, including the width at several places. Then came the measurement of his massive chest, then his neck, but when she eyed his groin she sputtered. “I know I need to measure for the sake of the way the cloth will lay, but… nope. Not doing it. I’ll go off of my calculations from the photos I’ve taken,” she decided quickly, blushing brightly at the thought of exactly how large she’d estimated his penis to be. “That’s a lot of extra cloth in the crotch to compensate for morning wood.”

Apparently Nappa had guessed a little something about what was embarrassing her, and she lightly smacked his arm when he grinned up at her and laughed. “It’s not funny!”

“ _K’sha’or_?” He purred with a waggle of his eyebrows. 

                “No to whatever you’re saying,” Ami replied with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll be back in a few minutes once I finish up with the sewing machine. Computer, open the door, please.” She stepped out then and once the door was closed behind her, she ordered the computer to release Nappa’s restraints, then made tracks for her room.

                The clothes she’d made for him were nearly finished anyway, so a few adjustments took only a handful of minutes, and she beamed proudly as she tried not to rush back to the door of her captive’s cell. “Look!” She called through the food slot. “See if they fit, Nappa, I’ll fix them if you need me to!”

                Backing away from the door, Ami smiled as he examined her offering, his lips twitching up radiantly. “Well, try them on!”

                “ _M’yo_!? Ah-Mee, iz mine?”

                “Yes, Nappa, they’re for you. I figured it was time you changed out of those high-waters and finally got to wear a shirt. I couldn’t find any shoes, though, sorry. I hope the socks I knitted are alright.” In fact, the socks were the very first thing he noticed, but when he put them on his hands, she burst into a fit of giggles. “No, they’re for your feet, Nappa!” Ami laughed, pressing against the door, her fear of him momentarily forgotten as she pointed at his toes.

                His eyes lighting up in understanding, Nappa first shucked off his trousers and set them on the table, then sat down and put on the socks, staring at his feet as he wiggled his toes in them. “Iz goot, Ah-Mee _m’yo. D’in m’yo_!”

                “You’re very welcome,” she replied with a blush, trying her very best not to get caught admiring his assets when he bent forward and began to poke at the yarn between his toes. Clearly, he’d never seen socks before. After a few minutes of patiently letting him play with the new garments, Ami pointed at the pants, her face impossibly red due to his nudity. “Um… did you want to put the pants on?”

                “Oh. Sorree, Ah-Mee,” Nappa chuckled, grinning up at her. “Vat dis?” He asked, pointing to his feet.

                “Socks.”

                “Oh. Sucks. Goot. Goot sucks, tank joo.”

                Laughing so hard that she lost her balance and slid to the floor, Ami shook her head. “Not _sucks,_ Nappa! Socks! Sooocks!”

                “Oh. Vat sucks, Ah-Mee?” He asked curiously, obviously intrigued by her laughter. Apparently the word he had used was funny?

                “Oh dear gods… um…” She blushed head to toe as she tried to think of a way to demonstrate or explain the word, and finally stuck the tip of a finger in her mouth and sucked it in. “Sucks,” she said with a shy little shrug once she’d released the digit.

                And of course, Nappa was grinning from ear to ear and looking down at his groin. Oh yeah, he definitely understood why she’d been rolling on the floor over his pronunciation. “Ah-Mee, joo sucks?” He asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

                “Pervert! I’d smack you if not for the glass between us!” She sputtered as her face turned bright red. “Put your pants on! Besides… my mouth’s not that big, anyway!”

                “I sucks joo, Ah-Mee m’yo?” He purred from the other side of the transparent door, suddenly quite serious, licking his lips at the mere thought of kneeling at her feet and making her come on his tongue.

                Her face couldn’t have possibly gotten any redder at that, and the little doctor ignored the flutter in her stomach when she gaped up at him in shock at his vulgarity, her eyes locked with his.

                “Jesh?” He persisted earnestly when she just continued to stare. “Joo vant me sucks joo, Ah-Mee?” Nappa couldn’t help but wonder and hope that she was going to say yes since she still hadn’t answered, and he stepped up to the door, maintaining eye contact with her as the images in his head made his cock eagerly rise. “Ah-Mee. I vant sucks joo,” he breathed hoarsely. “ _Big_ vant.” Noting the way her eyes were following the path of his tongue as he licked his lips in anticipation, Nappa beckoned to her, his purr rolling seductively.

 It was that simple gesture that broke Ami out of her trance and finally drew a strangled response from her.

                “No!” She denied, pushing the picture out of her head where he was kneeling in front of her and sucking her folds into his mouth. Gods, if that wasn’t quite the tempting thought! After all, he was an amazing specimen of a man! “Um… I mean _no_ ,” she added a bit more calmly. “Just put your pants on, Nappa, so I can see if they fit?”

                Still grinning, he gave her a little wink as he held up one of the garments she’d passed through the slot. “Panz?”

                “No, that’s the shirt,” she muttered, still red-faced. Had he been serious? Did he really want to… do _that_!? To _her_!? The fact that he was bearing a very generous erection told her that yes, he did, and then he’d probably want to do a _lot_ more than that once he’d finished her off.

                “Shit?”

                It never failed to make her giggle whenever one of them uttered that inside joke, and Ami laughed despite herself when he gave her a boyish grin and he tugged the item over his head. “Now put on the pants!” She cackled when he stood. “You look funny with that thing flying around, wearing only socks and a shirt!” Never mind that ‘that thing’ showed no signs of deflating anytime soon, and the sight of it was downright tempting. _Does he really want to do that to me?_ She found herself wondering yet again with interest. _What would it feel like to let him put his mouth on me?_ Ami could feel herself blushing, and apparently she was staring again, because that low, rolling purr of seduction had started up once more and Nappa was licking his lips as he simply gazed at her, his desire for her plain and clear. “Go on, get dressed!” She managed in a strangled voice, waving at the pants. _Please get dressed before I do or say something incredibly stupid!_

                “Panz,” he grunted once they were on, holding still for her approval, nodding when she seemed pleased with the fit. “Goot, Ah-Mee?”

                Clearing her throat, she gave him a little nod. “Well, I can see that there’s enough room in the crotch, at least,” she remarked hoarsely.

                Stifling a snicker, Nappa dared to press against the glass door and looked down at her tenderly. “Ah-Mee. My panz. My shiiiirt. Joo…?” He paused a moment, clearly trying to think of the right word, but he finally just pointed at her hands and made knitting motions with his fingers.

                “Make?” Ami supplied. “Did I make your pants and shirt and socks?”

                “Jesh, Ah-Mee. Joo make?”

                “Yeah, of course,” she answered, suddenly feeling very shy. “It’s not like anyone expected an eight foot tall warrior with your build to crash land, so I had to find some cloth and sew them.”

                “Ah-Mee _m’yo_?”

                His tone made her dare to glance up, and in his eyes she found not only desire, but gratitude… and maybe a little something more. _No, I’m seeing things. He might want me physically because he’s been without a woman in gods only know how long, but that’s probably it. Hell, I haven’t even had a marriage proposal in decades, let alone a simple request for a date! No one wants the little scientist queen who stays holed up in the lab for days on end._

He was beckoning to her again, and it broke her out of her self-concious thoughts, but only for her to shake her head. “I’m not opening the door, Nappa. Sorry,” she added softly, “but I just… I can’t. Sorry.”

                “No, Ah-Mee,” he sighed patiently. “Joo come,” he said, pointing at the ground in front of the door. “Come,” he repeated gently, waving her over.

                The double meaning of the word made Ami shiver, and she couldn’t help but have a fleeting fantasy of hearing him whispering that word in her ear as his hands wandered her and she pressed against that magnificent body of his. “Ok,” she managed hoarsely as she picked herself up and stood just short of pressing to the glass as he was.

                The little doctor was surprised to see his hand come up and simply move briefly in front of her face, almost as if he was imagining caressing her face, but then it came to rest on the glass. “ _D’in m’yo_ , Ah-Mee. Tank joo. My panz. Shirt. Soooocks. Iz goot. Joo goot _sh_. Joo goot _k’sha_. Sorree I bad _k’sha_. _Mah’ni_ , Ah-Mee.”

                Whatever he was apologizing for seemed to be quite serious, so Ami just gave him a gentle smile, and after a moment of hesitation, she pressed her own hand to the glass, marveling for a second over how his practically dwarfed hers. His loud, sudden purr startled her for an instant, but rather than running, she just blinked up at him in surprise. “Nappa?”

                “Ah-Mee _m’yo_ ,” he sighed in what sounded like contentment to her ears, his lips twitching up in a peaceful smile.

                Feeling more than a little anxious and tempted to open the door for the tenth time, Ami wisely backed away, giving him a shaky little smile of her own. “I’ll um… bring your food, Nappa,” she offered quickly before scurrying away.

                “Ah-Mee _m’yo_?”

                The slightly heartbroken tone to his voice stopped her, and Ami turned, only to feel a wash of guilt run through her at the sight of him caged up like an animal. _Damn it, I know he won’t hurt me… but I know if I let him out I’ll have some sort of post traumatic flashback and I’ll be terrified of him anyway. I need to figure out how to get over my fear so that I can let him out._ “I’m coming back,” she assured him softly. “I’m going to eat supper with you before bedtime.”

                #############################

                Towards the end of their dinner, Ami eyed the transparent glass between them for the millionth time and tried to still the trembling in her hands as she finished her meal and moved on to her dessert. “I can do this,” she breathed to herself, shutting her eyes tightly, unaware of the worry mixing in with the look of adoration that Nappa had been giving her for nearly five minutes. “Computer,” she choked out. “O—open… open…”

                Shaking from head to toe, Ami let out a sob of frustration and shoved her tray to the side, resting her face in her hands. “Why can’t I say it!?” She whimpered heatedly at herself. “I know you’re no danger to me, but every time I try to say it, I can’t get the words out! Why am I still so afraid of you!?”

                Filled with worry at the sight of her outburst, Nappa rested his hands on the glass and nearly broke it from his sudden urge to hold her and protect her from whatever it was that she was afraid of, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was _him_ that she was terrified of. “Ah-Mee?” He asked gently, tapping lightly on the glass to get her attention. “Ah-Mee _m’yo, buh’tir. F’ri shi’or_.”

                “I want to let you out,” Ami whispered, wiping at her face. “You shouldn’t be stuck living in a cage, but… but I can’t say the words. I’m so sorry, Nappa.”

                “No, Ah-Mee. No sorree. Joo…” Sitting back down in his chair, Nappa sighed heavily and scratched at his bald head as he tried to think of a way to say it. Judging by her previous gestures towards the door, she’d been trying to release him, but couldn’t speak the words because of the trauma he had caused her. “I sorree, _r’sha m’yo_. I… I herd joo.” And she was still hurt—it was obvious, even though he could no longer see any marks to prove it. “I bad,” he added mournfully, wishing to the gods that there was some way he could truly speak with her.

                “No, Nappa, you’re not bad,” Ami sighed, pressing her hand to the glass where his already laid. “I just have PTSD… and the irony of it is that I don’t think you even remember doing it.”

                “Ah-Mee?”

                “Yeah?” She replied wearily, only to jump back when his hand slid down to the one-inch gap and he dared to put his huge fingers beneath the glass, pushing through to the other side until he was stopped by the thickness of his knuckles. The hint of fear in his eyes told her that he half-expected her to give the order to close the observation window, which would sever the digits, but Ami surprised both of them by stopping herself from giving the order.

                She couldn’t hurt him. As much as she apparently feared him, she also cared enough about him not to harm him, and even her PTSD couldn’t override that. _Maybe… just maybe…_ “D—don’t m—move,” Ami breathed as she forced herself back towards the counter, her feet feeling like they weighed a million pounds as she slid them forward one step at a time, her entire body visibly shaking at the knowledge of what she was about to try.

                Eyes locked with hers, Nappa gave her an encouraging smile and did as he was told, holding perfectly still for her. “I no moof, Ah-Mee. _J’ha nava m’yo_. No herd joo.”

                Reaching out—her body wouldn’t let her come any closer than arm’s length without making her feel like she was going to pass out—Ami brushed her fingertips over his, her stomach jumping and fluttering at the contact as he held her gaze.

                “Good, Ah-Mee,” Nappa praised. “Moar?”

                Her heart pounding from the effort of sliding towards him, Ami stopped after two more steps and held her breath, her head swimming the moment she laid her fingers on top of his. “I… I did it,” she panted. “I’m touching you.” Sure, he was confined and could do her no harm as he was, but the point was being able to touch him without him being fully restrained to a steel table. And she was doing it. “Give me a moment,” Ami breathed as her heart slowed, coming the rest of the way to reclaim her seat, her lips twitching up slightly at the sound of a happy purr emanating from the other side of the glass.

                It took a couple of minutes, but Ami managed to steel herself for the next part, keeping her hand where it was despite how hard she’d begun to shake again. “Computer,” she breathed. “R—raise glass… f—five … in—inches.”

                “Ah-Mee,” Nappa gasped in surprise when the glass suddenly lifted far enough for him to put his hand through up to his elbow. The Saiyan general didn’t move, though; he was true to his word and held perfectly still for her, waiting to see what she would do next. The sensation of her little hand covering his made him shiver with pleasure, and never before in his life had something as minimal as touching a woman filled him with so much emotion. “Ah-Mee,” he whispered, his pride for her showing in his eyes as he smiled.

                She was obviously having a difficult time with just that little bit of contact, so Nappa was stunned when she looked him in the eye determinedly and suddenly flipped his hand palm side up and she grasped it lightly, tugging it through to her side of the glass. But he still didn’t move, beyond thrilled that she was touching him and more than content to let her continue. “Joo goot, Ah-Mee?” He inquired when she suddenly closed her eyes and fought to breathe.

                “Y—you…”

                Apparently she was about to give the computer another order?

                “Can m—move.”

                Nappa felt his heart stop at that and looked her in the eye for confirmation when she cracked hers open, the little hand nestled in his trembling as she clearly fought not to remove it. “No herd joo, Ah-Mee,” he whispered in a mixture of awe and trepidation. She knew that, right? Did she truly know that he wouldn’t hurt her?

                Ami didn’t have a clue how to convey her level of gratitude when he still didn’t move his hand, but that lack of motion gave her time to calm her pounding heart and ease the tremors of terror running through her from head to toe. It took several minutes to do so, but Nappa was the picture of patience as he waited, watching her carefully for any signs that he should withdraw from her. “Ah-Mee. Joo goot?” He finally asked after what felt like an eternity of waiting, his muscles aching from sitting so perfectly still for so long.

                “Yes, Nappa, I think I’m good,” Ami sighed, only to flinch when she felt his other hand cover hers, sandwiching it between both of his massive paws.  “It’s ok,” she added quickly when she felt and saw his hand jerk back a little. “Really, I think I might be ok with this, I’m not having any flashbacks or anything, and I think I would have had one by now if it was going to happen.”

                The tiny, reassuring smile tugging at her lips made Nappa beam at her happily through the glass, and he dared to move the hand at the top of the sandwich, stroking his fingertips lightly over the back of her hand, easing her through the glass until her hand was on his side. “No herd joo, Ah-Mee,” he whispered as he bent his head, lifting her fingers to his lips, where he placed a brief kiss on her knuckles.

                Ami shivered at that, but it wasn’t a flinch, and her face was beet red when Nappa looked briefly back up at her before pressing another kiss over the first one, his purr rolling soothingly through both of the rooms. “I know you won’t hurt me,” she breathed as she inhaled through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to calm her racing heart. Whether it was racing from the fact that she was touching him, or from the series of kisses that he was now laying in a trail to her wrist was beyond her, but those deep, steady breaths were helping to relax her, along with a wonderful scent that was gradually filling the air. _Is that just his natural scent…? Is smells like him, but it’s magnified somehow,_ she thought as the delicious aroma had her sagging in her seat, reminding her of a cross between peppermint schnapps and pine mulch. It was both warm and cool at the same time, but the queen of Mercury found herself loving the smell and wondering simultaneously just why her inner thighs were aching… but in a good way.

                Maybe it had something to do with his purr, which was as hypnotizing to her ears as it was soothing. Or maybe it was the feeling of his tongue swiping briefly over her radial artery, followed by a light graze from his teeth, then another lazy, open-mouthed kiss. Or maybe—“W—wait—what are you doing?” Ami asked dazedly, her tone only mildly surprised as her eyes fluttered open to find him gazing up at her adoringly, his pupils completely blown from arousal. _Dear Mercury, he’s horny,_ she mentally squeaked, her face turning crimson. _Oh gods, and **so am I**! _ She comprehended as she recognized the ache between her thighs for what it truly was.

                “Me vant joo, Ah-Mee,” Nappa confessed as if she didn’t know it already, dipping his mouth to her wrist once more to suck briefly at the pulse. “Heh… me sucks joo,” he chuckled absently before dragging the tip of his tongue over the little red mark he’d left, then down to a finger to suckle the tip, his tongue curling briefly around it.

                “N—Nappa… I… no more, ok?” She insisted breathlessly, only to stare at him in surprise when he immediately complied and released her. “Thanks,” she said shakily as she fought down a wave of disappointment from the lack of the contact, positive that if she simply stuck her hand through the window again, he would continue until she was a squirming puddle of arousal. The thought was beyond tempting, but her shyness stopped her from doing so, and she managed a quick point to the clock. “It’s um… it’s getting late.”

                “Bed, Ah-Mee?” Nappa inquired as he continued to purr for her, sighing in disappointment when she gave a soft order for the window to close and she nodded. “Joo come my bed?” He added hopefully, reminding her that he definitely wanted her, refusing to give her the slightest chance to convince herself that she was imagining things. Seeing her eyes widen and her cheeks flush brighter at the statement, Nappa couldn’t help but chuckle and shook his head slightly. “No, Ah-Mee. Joo _m’kor_ my bed. No sucks. _M’kor_. No sucks,” he repeated gently, wishing he had better command of her language in order to convince her.

                _Dear gods, please,_ he prayed silently. _Please let her say yes. I swear I’ll only hold her and nothing more._

Ami actually hesitated to answer, surprising herself by the lack of an immediate ‘no’ to the request, her heart fluttering as their eyes met and she imagined what it would be like to let him snuggle up to her without any fear of him. But the fact remained that she would probably not react well to more than just touching, and she knew that. To do more might only set her back, and that was the last thing she wanted. “No,” she sighed. “I’m sorry, Nappa. I’ll… I don’t know, ok? It would probably be wise to work me up to more contact gradually.”

                “Jesh, Ah-Mee my,” he sighed in understanding, getting the gist of what she meant through her body language. She was interested, she’d considered his offer, but she was refusing because she was worried about how she would handle being touched too much. “Joo goot _m’kor_. Seep.”

                “You too,” she sighed, somehow producing a smile to let him know she wasn’t upset with him. “Good night, Nappa.”

                ####################################

_The first thing Ami noticed upon entering Nappa’s room was the fact that he wasn’t properly restrained. He was restrained, yes—but rather than lying upon the exam table, he was sitting on the floor at the head of it, his arms above his head and manacled in place, rendering him only partially helpless. “Nappa, why in the—“_

_“I vant sucks joo, Ah-Mee,” he answered before she could finish her question. “Vant joo trust me. Come here. I no touch you. Oh-nee kiss. Suck. Taste. I promiss, Ah-Mee.”_

_Covering her eyes in embarrassment, Ami backed up to the door, but when she peeked through her fingers at him, she found Nappa just gazing up at her with nothing but desire for her in his eyes, his erection straining against the cloth of the pants she’d made him._

_Somehow turning even redder than she already was, Ami hid her face again in some kind of vain hope that she’d wake up and find it all to be a horrifically mortifying and arousing dream, but when she dared to peek again, she found him licking his lips and purring encouragingly as he continued to gaze up at her in adoration. “Nappa, I… I came to get the sample from you,” she admitted softly. “I need you up on the table. I’m sorry, but I’m um… not interested in **that**.”_

_“Joo bad ly-aar, Ah-Mee_ m’yo _. Joo vant. I vant. Come here,” he rasped in reply, licking his lips once more in anticipation when she slid forward a single step, leaning forward as far as possible in his bonds._

_The smoldering eagerness in his eyes made her move forward one more step beyond the first, but Ami somehow managed to shake herself from the hypnotic trance she was in and stared down at the sample cup in her hand. “But… but I only need a sample, Nappa,” she protested weakly even as she felt like some unknown force was tugging her towards him. Gods, were her feet moving on their own!? “There um… there’s no need to… you know. We can just lay you down on the table and then I can—“_

_“Joo vant me come, Ah-Mee, joo come, too. I sucks joo, joo get sam-pull.”_

_He was licking his lips again, and Ami slid forward one more step, her heart pounding in her chest at the thought of him pressing his mouth to her core, which was now aching so badly she couldn’t deny her attraction to him. “You won’t hurt me?” She breathed, her voice low and shaky._

_“No, Ah-Mee. I vant make joo come. I no touch joo,” he repeated sincerely. “Kiss. Suck.Taste. Promiss.”_

_She could feel his breath against her even through the cloth of her skirt, and that was when Ami realized that she’d come all the way; there was no more distance between them, and before she could question what in the hell was going on, she felt him nuzzle her sex through the cloth, making her tense from head to toe at the immediate zing of pleasure racing up her spine. A sudden tugging at her panties with what could only be his tail made her moan softly and clutch at the table in anticipation, and that was when she finally acknowledged the naked truth—she wanted him._

_Oh yes, she definitely wanted him in a way she’d never wanted anyone before, and the first tentative contact of his lips with her bared mound drew another moan from her mouth, this one much louder than the last. “Nappa… you… you don’t have to…”_

_“Vant to,” he groaned before dragging his tongue down to part her folds, immediately stroking it over her clit. “Vant sucks joo. Make joo come. Joo vant me stop?”_

_Considering that she could feel every single word he uttered as his breath and lips brushed over her, Ami emphatically shook her head and couldn’t stop her hips from rolling up against his tongue when it parted her folds again and pushed its way inside of her. “Don’t stop,” she begged weakly, her hands sliding over to the manacles so that her fingers were linked with his, giving her something solid to grip as each slow, lazy thrust of his tongue took her higher. “Yes,” she breathed as she closed in on her first climax with a man. “Yes, Nappa…”_

_She wasn’t sure what she was even saying ‘yes’ to, but it sure seemed like the right thing at the moment, some sort of verbal affirmation that she did truly want this to happen. But then he was stopping, and Ami let out a strangled whine of disappointment, only to look down at him and turn the color of a sunset at the dark desire smoldering in his eyes._

_“Joo taste bootifull, my Ah-Mee.”_

_Unable to come up with a suitable response, the doctor only flexed her fingers in his, squeezing his hands encouragingly as she tried to get her breathing under control. “Please don’t stop,” she finally responded hoarsely._

_Unwilling to deny her anything, Nappa dove back in, but rather than return to his languid thrusting, he began to lap hungrily at her clit, ripping a cry of pleasure from her throat, followed by a low moan of his name._

_Gods, it was so much more intense than the handful of times she’d gotten herself off, and Ami was trembling from the pleasure washing through her, building steadily, the warmth spreading through her thighs and abdomen as it heralded her orgasm. “Nappa, I’m going to come,” she whimpered._

_That was when she felt his lips purse around her and she sagged against him in surrender, grateful for the tail that wrapped around her and helped to hold her up. His lips sucking at her wetly shoved her right to the edge of climax and over it within moments, and Ami’s cry of completion echoed around them in the exam room as she bucked against him once and went stiff._

_She collapsed against him the moment his mouth and tail released her, panting for air, every inch of her shaking from the force of the amazing orgasm he’d just given her. The sensation of his tail ghosting over her cheek and his lips pressing to her temple broke her out of her stupor, and Ami couldn’t help but still feel a little shy as she dared to look up at him._

_He was smiling down at her gently, his eyes sparkling with happiness as well as desire, and the queen of Mercury realized only then that his purr was nearly as loud as her own wanton moans had been. “Nappa, I…”_

_“Vant you, Ah-Mee,” he breathed as he dipped his head and kissed her lips, emitting a little groan when she allowed it and relaxed into him, her mouth opening to his questing tongue, a shiver running down her spine at the taste of her own pleasure._

_Ami hadn’t a clue what in the hell was overcoming her better senses, but when she felt his arousal grind up into her, she was consumed with the urge to feel him moving inside of her. She was definitely getting a sample from him, but it wasn’t going in the cup, she mused as she tugged the hem of his pants down and he sprang free. “I want you too,” she confessed breathlessly._

_Rising up on her knees, she gasped at how wide he felt pressing to her aching entrance, and fleetingly wondered if she’d even be able to take him. Surely it wouldn’t hurt too much despite her virginity, right? He’d definitely prepared her in advance for this, but even if there was some pain, she simply couldn’t stop—she wanted him too badly._

_“Slow, my Ah-Mee,” Nappa purred, as if reading her thoughts. “No vant herd joo. Jesh?”_

_“Slow,” she agreed as she dropped her weight a bit and felt his engorged head pushing into her, stretching her hymen._

Ami sat up sharply as she panted for air, gulping down breath after breath as her wide eyes stared into the darkness and her heart raced. “Oh dear gods,” she finally choked out as she flopped back onto her pillows. “That… that was some dream.”

That was an understatement, considering how soaked her panties were; they were so wet that Ami briefly wondered if she’d pissed herself while she was sleeping, but no—the sheets weren’t wet, just her underwear, her thighs, and a spot on the back of her nightgown.

“Ok, fine,” she admitted after cleaning up and acknowledging the desperate ache between her legs. “He’s gorgeous and I apparently want him, despite how terrified I am of the thought of releasing him. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to march into his cell and let him do anything. Hell, I can’t even seriously consider releasing him without shaking and wanting to cry. Maybe… maybe I should ask Setsuna to come here,” Ami wondered aloud. “If I had some outside support, perhaps I could free Nappa. I would certainly feel safer with someone here to act as a buffer. I’ll ask her,” she finally decided as she changed her clothes and headed toward the kitchen to make breakfast.


End file.
